Houten Kop | Brouwerij Strubbe

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User Ratings & Reviews

Reviews by GCBrewingCo:

The beer was a clear amber golden with an off-white frothy head head lasted well to lace the glass.

The aroma was a combination of earthy and spicy hops with a lgiht caramel and a fruity character.

The flavor was lgihtly flavoured with caramel and a very light spice coupled with an earthy hop. The caramel was only enough to balance the hops and the flavor ended with a light hop and malt balance which was fairly well done.

The finish was dry with a lasting light spice into the aftertaste. The body was medium with a lightly creamy mouthfeel.

More User Reviews:

Poured into my Hennepin stem glass it's a mostly clear amber with a fluffy white head. The aroma reminds me of a chardonnay (but better) at first with a slightly acidic and sweet biscuit aroma - nice in a different sort of way. The flavor is a subtle and well-balanced mix of caramel, apple sugar candy, bubblegum, white grapes, herbal/perfume-like hops and yeast. Really, this is what Belgian beer is all about. It's a little funky, but finely balanced with an array of aromas and flavors. A must-try for Belgian pale ale fans.

Presentation: 8.4 fluid ounce brown glass bottle. A purple colored crown cap and a single cream colored label are all that self promote this beer. The label promotes the beer as Houten Kop (which means Wooden Head). The words are written around a picture of a chalice filled with beer. The words Ale brewed with natural flavors whatever the hell that means, and Brewed in Flanders finish the label. The obligatory Government Warning wastes more label space, whilst the strength is listed as 6.5% Alc/Vol in the bottom right hand corner. No freshness date. Supposedly this is a Pale Ale.

Appearance: A lucid beer with good clarity that fizzed when it poured! The body has a lovely golden brown color. A thin head comprised of large tan colored bubbles eventually settles to a ring like collar that surrounds the beers edge. No lacing at all. Chunks of yeast invade the beers body and bobble up and down with the streamers in the beer, until they eventually settle to a yeast pile at the bottom of my glass.

Taste: A sweet wooden introduction that reminded of a dessert of pears cooked in brown sugar. As with the pear dessert, the beer introduces sourness in the middle to off-set the sugary sweetness. Light malt and hops in the finish.

Mouthfeel: Light mouthfeel, the above average carbonation adds some backbone, but it is average nonetheless.

Drinkability: I found this pleasant enough, but I could only manage one of these, the sweetness would be too much for me if I had any more.

Overall: An above average Pale Ale with a Belgium twist, but worth a try nevertheless.

Bottle at Strijdershuis in Bruges, where 3 of us slowly worked our way through most of the Strubbe range.
A: Amber/brown color with thin white head and yeast chunks here and there.
S: Aroma of light spice, maybe allspice?
T: Malty flavor with a bit of hops bitterness in the finish.
M: Average body.
D: An interesting enough beer, but nothing special. Toward the bottom end of the Strubbe line, they have plenty of better choices than this one.

Thousands of little bubbles line the edges of the glass, when this darker-orange/brown colored brew is poured. Small cream colored head on the top. The scent has some fruitiness to it, as well as some yeasty notes as well. Peach perhaps. Fruit tones on the taste include pear and apple. Fairly sweet, with some hops in the finish.A little thin in the mouth, but quite a tasty treat regardless.

This bee is darker blonde colored and looks almost like muddy orange. A few strings of lace cling around the glass. The nose is sweet, bringing to mind candi sugar and fresh apricot. There's even a vague spice. The momentum of goodness continues, where the taste of sugared apricots, some yeastiness adding a fruity aspect, gentle bread, and a kiss of alcohol makes an enjoyable sip. The body is medium-full yet airy.

Pours amber with a nice big almost beige head, ok retention, rather sticky.
Smell of toasted grains, caramel, Belgian sugars, some blond fruit and a pronounced spicy yeastiness, especially considering the extra 12 herbs added.
Taste starts with soft bread, very ripe fruit (apricot, pear, red apple, cherries), with a balanced acidity, sweetness and even some sourness. Some faint candi sugar, but big on the spices, with vanilla, clove, peppercorn, allspice, coriander, some ginger, faint anise and a lot of forest floral herbs, reminding of tea. Finishes with nice spicy Belgian hops, mild bitterness and some low woody notes.
Light to medium body, but rather fizzy (enhancing the prickly spices). Nice aftertaste of herbs, some faint bread crust, bit of wood and even some fruit lingering.
Didn't think much of this one when picking it up, but turned out to be a bit of a surprise. I think this is closer to a tripel, and a nice and spicy one too.

Chunky, yeasty, fluorescent tangerine peel. I broke off the pour just before the *really* huge stuff entered the glass, so the next pour should be interesting. It isn't as carbonated as many Belgians, but is more so than the average American ale. Atop the beer sits a small, soft, sawdust colored head. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Belgian lace will be a part of this Belgian beer experience.

There's nothing special about the aroma. I smell sour fruit, clovey yeast and a tincture of alcohol. Maybe most of the aroma and flavor lives with the yeast. So, against my better judgment, I'm going to add some of the bottom of the bottle solids to the glass before drinking. It didn't do much to the nose, although it does smell a little medicinal now.

Houten Kop isn't an overly compelling example of the style. It's mildly fruity, but those flavors are overwhelmed by the herbal flavor that (I happen to know from reading the website) is due, in addition to the hops, to the 'secret recipe' of various herbs. I have no clue what those herbs and spices are, but coriander is an obvious contributor. Ginger is a guess.

The beer also tastes somewhat woody, with a firm dryness. By my palate, there's no candi sugar present, or at least very little. The herbal-yeasty finish is a continuation of what came before rather than a new flavor experience.

Houten Kop (Wooden Head) is decent beer, but it isn't very interesting. I have little doubt that it's always one of the last ones picked when the Belgian beers get together for a game of dodgeball.